musk deer

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a small tusked, antlerless Asian hoofed mammal of the family Moschidae, whose males have traditionally been hunted for a musk-producing gland

   The musk deer moved quietly through the steep Himalayan forest.

A compound of musk + deer. Musk came through French and Latin from Persian mushk, ultimately related to Sanskrit muska ("testicle"), referring to the shape of the scent gland. Despite the common name, musk deer belong to Moschidae rather than the true-deer family Cervidae.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images